The present invention relates to a game apparatus and more particularly to the board-type game commonly referred to as "GO".
GO is a board game that originated in China, spread to the shores of Japan sometime in the eighth century, and has gradually gained in such popularity so that today enthusiasts can be found, not only in Japan, but also in the United States and Europe.
Traditional GO uses a game board upon the playing surface of which are 19 vertical lines that are intersected by 19 horizontal lines, resulting in 361 intersections. These intersections are the locations for play-placement of player pieces, called "stones." Traditionally, there are the same number of stones as there are intersections: 361, 180 of the stones which are white and 181 are black. Briefly, the game is played by two contestants, one using the black stones and the other using the white stones. Play alternates between each player, with one stone being played at a time. A stone must be played each turn, no "passes" or skipping of turns is allowed. The object of the game is to place stones so as to surround more intersections (territory) than the player's opponent. The stones are limited to being played on the intersections of the lines inscribed on the playing surface (or on the spaces between the lines--but usually not both). For some, the profundity of the intellectual pursuit in learning the game can be a life-long endeavor; for others, on the other hand, mastering the initial concepts of the game can lead to boredom or disenchantment by the somewhat regimented play and limitations imposed, in part, by the constraints of game play. Unfortunately, no satisfactory alternative games of varietal form have been heretofore proposed. Those which have been suggested generally are of the lower intellectual challenge than the traditional GO game.